For the 4th, we went to Chester, CA for the parade, and to Susanville for fireworks. It was nice to see kids having fun lighting fireworks again (since fireworks are illegal in Nevada). We got to meet and visit with some extended family, too. Misti's grand aunt Fern, with all her kids and grandkids, as well as Misti's grandma Faye's kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. It was interesting to hear the Russian language spoken at a family reunion, as Misti's family has Russian relatives, in addition to Korean and Basque relatives (and many more, I'm sure).

We also watched a movie called "Not Without My Daughter", which is based on a true story about a woman that was married to an Iranian man for seven years in Michigan and then went with her husband and daughter with him to Iran to visit family and once they got there, he held them hostage and made them conform to an Iranian lifestyle. It's an awesome story albeit based on horrible circumstances. The shaft of it is that this apparently happens a lot to American women. I highly recommend seeing it.